FREEDOM ON THE NET 2021 The Global Drive to Control Big Tech Based on the score, Freedom House assigns the following internet freedom ratings: • • • Scores 100-70 = Free Scores 69-40 = Partly Free Scores 39-0 = Not Free Freedom House staff invite at least one researcher or organization to serve as the report author for each country, training them to assess internet freedom developments according to the project’s comprehensive research methodology. Researchers submit draft country reports and attend a ratings review meeting focused on their region. During the meetings, participants review, critique, and adjust the draft scores—based on set coding guidelines—through careful consideration of events, laws, and practices relevant to each item. After completing the regional and country consultations, Freedom House staff edit and fact-check all country reports and perform a final review of all scores to ensure their comparative reliability and integrity. Freedom House staff also conduct robust qualitative analysis on every country to determine each year’s key global findings and emerging trends. Checklist of Questions A. OBSTACLES TO ACCESS (0–25 POINTS) 1. Do infrastructural limitations restrict access to the internet or the speed and quality of internet connections? (0–6 points) • Do individuals have access to high-speed internet services at their home, place of work, internet cafés, libraries, schools, and other venues, as well as on mobile devices? • Does poor infrastructure (including unreliable electricity) or catastrophic damage to infrastructure (caused by events such as natural disasters or armed conflicts) limit residents’ ability to access the internet? 2. Is access to the internet prohibitively expensive or beyond the reach of certain segments of the population for geographical, social, or other reasons? (0–3 points) • Do financial constraints—such as high prices for internet services, excessive taxes imposed on such services, or state manipulation of the relevant markets—make internet access prohibitively expensive for large segments of the population? • Are there significant differences in internet penetration and access based on geographical area, or for certain ethnic, religious, gender, LGBT+, migrant, and other relevant groups? • Do zero-rating plans or other pricing practices by service providers create a digital divide in terms of what types of content individuals with different financial means can access? 3. Does the government exercise technical or legal control over internet infrastructure for the purposes of restricting connectivity? (0–6 points) • Does the government restrict, or compel service providers to restrict, internet connectivity by slowing or shutting down internet connections during specific events (such as protests or elections), either locally or nationally? • Does the government centralize internet infrastructure in a manner that could facilitate restrictions on connectivity? • Does the government block, or compel service providers to block, social media platforms and communication apps that serve in practice as major conduits for online information? 30 @freedomonthenet #FreedomOnTheNet